No More " Smart " Motorways

Edmund King commented that there is evidence that these lanes do not relieve congestion anyway as drivers consider them dangerous and just drive in the other lanes, so they're pointless and dangerous.

 

Agree. I've never used one.

 

I dislike using them when I have to - as said upthread, the amount of people who just drive in the lane with the big red X on the gantry is huge - either because they can't see an obstruction or just aren't taking any notice of / don't care about the lane signs. The thought of breaking down and coming to a stop in a live lane is not a good one.

 

Absolutely appalling idea from the get go. I drive on motorways a lot, and the last thing these are is smart. Apart from the amount of wazzocks actually driving on the motorway, you're dependent upon some numbskull in a control centre seeing the problem to begin with. Until they do, you've no indication that there's a problem ahead......

 

We've had them here on the M1 near Sheffield for some time and I've hated them from day one. The M1 near the Meadowhall exit was the scene of one of the fatal accidents a couple of years back when someone broke down and was effectively stranded in a "live" lane. They're just a cheap way of making a 3 lane motorway, a 4 lane motorway IMO. I rarely drive that section on the bike but when I do and when I'm in the SUV pulling the caravan, I'm always relieved when I'm through it and back to the standard and SAFER 3 lanes plus hard shoulder. The hard shoulder was deemed a design essential due to the higher speeds when the motorways we know today were proposed. Making it a "normal" lane purely to increase traffic flow and ease congestion just beggars belief.

 

Tried googling it, it looks like it's only the UK that is daft enough to have them...

 

Nope, some countries they have a four lane road with 3 lanes going into town in the morning and 1 lane for leaving, then just for fun they reverse the priorities in the afternoon

 

Yeah, I hate that section of the M1 as well. My junction is a couple further up and I will jump on for a few miles to Meadowhall but it's soul-destroying going any further. Same going north towards Leeds, in fact. If I'm on the bike I almost always avoid the motorway completely.

 

And one of those countries with that sort of set up is Wales.

 

Tidal roads are everywhere. Lincoln and Sheffield are two I've visited this week. Makes more sense than a bus lane, in my view. They really annoy me....

 

I like bus lanes if they allow bikes in them.

 

I like some bus lanes down this way that let bikes and HGVs in them.

 

If a government… any government, labels something as "smart," I'm going venture to say it's probably pretty stupid.

 

Problem is even when your allowed to use them outside the ‘busy time’ people are so dum that they still don’t use them. I use them whenever I can and strangely I get frowned upon from the drivers without a timepiece!!

 

I'm quite happy with that. It leaves the lane more open for me.

 

Yep. RTFS

 

Yeah I just can't understand that. It seems like nine out of ten drivers can't read the signs that say the lanes are ONLY bus lanes at certain times. Baffling.

 

What worries me is, how many other signs aren't they reading. Are they paying much attention to the road at all?!